Ojai Valley Inn is the perfect place to watch ‘The Birds’, Alfred Hitchcock’s classic scary movie set in the wild and beautiful Bodega Bay of northern California.

Tippi Hedren, the star of the film, will be stopping by for a Q&A session before the screening. Proceeds from the evening’s ticket sales will help The Shambala Preserve, supported in part by the Roar Foundation which she began in 1983.

Thanks to nicole, west hollywood sales, for contributing the spirit of this submission.

Before CB2, the previous tenant of 8000 w. Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood was a popular Virgin Megastore—but its most famous was the legendary Schwab’s Pharmacy a few doors down at 8024.

photo courtesy of the_toe_stubberIn the movie “Sunset Boulevard”, William Holden’s character refers to Schwab’s as “headquarters—a combination office, coffee klatch, and waiting room” for Hollywood.

For over fifty years, from 1932 until 1983, Hollywood’s most famous stopped by once or twice, during low and high times: Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Shelley Winters, Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Sylvester Stallone, Goldie Hawn, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton…

Schwab’s was the hangout for anyone in the business. Legends—and rumors about them—got started here. Lana Turner was discovered at the counter. F. Scott Fitzgerald had a heart attack buying a pack of cigarettes. Songwriter Harold Arlin wrote “Over the Rainbow” by the light of the neon sign. Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd played pinball in the back room.

photo courtesy of onefish2Farther west on the boulevard, at the southwest corner of Sunset and Crescent Heights, was the The Garden of Allah.

In 1928, silent screen star Alla Nazimova developed the land surrounding her mansion into the legendary private bungalows.

It’s rumored that Tallulah Bankhead swam naked in the swimming pool and Marilyn Monroe was discovered sipping a Coke beside the same pool. Alas, as Joni Mitchell sang, they “paved paradise, put up a parking lot” when it was demolished in 1959 and replaced with a strip mall.

Storefront windows have been a staple since the dawn of “shoppe” keepers. Over time they evolved into a form of entertainment and experimentation. Today they have to stand out from the competition, stop you in your tracks—and catch your eye between blinks—no pressure, really.

Developing a concept is the first and most difficult step of planning windows. After some brainstorming a strong idea emerges to suit the product selection. Next we’ll order the merchandise to stock it, buy supplies and schedule help.

For these ‘carbon copy’ windows we were inspired by the movie “500 days of summer”. The lead character in the movie, an architect, had a chalkboard wall in his bedroom to sketch ideas—including a virtual headboard for his bed.

We incorporated this idea into the window theme—which became ‘grey, black, white and a single hit of bold color’—by drawing elements customers might have in their homes, like a flight of stairs and a vintage French mirror.

To produce the windows we sought local (and hidden) talent within our store. Mark-Austin, Elliot and Erick created the chalk drawn interior spaces—the virtual settings for actual product.

In the end, the most successful windows not only display products in the best light possible, they’re created by a talented and enthusiastic team who participate in the creative process and contribute their skills to the execution. Many thanks to the Sunset team for all their support and hard work!

Are you inspired to DIY? How about hanging an infinity mirror and chalking your own frame? We’d love to see what details suit your personality.